Television programs have been a popular form of entertainment for decades; however, the advent of the Internet is affecting their popularity. With the increasing popularity of the Internet, television networks have noticed increased competition from other forms of entertainment, as opposed to the competition being limited to that from other competing television networks. More and more Americans are looking to the World Wide Web to fulfill their desire for entertainment, drastically reducing ratings and causing shows to be canceled. This change in the public's viewing habits is not only affecting television stations, production companies, and actors, but advertising agencies as well. With new technologies such as the digital video recorder (DVR), Netflix® (and other internet movie rental companies), and on-demand television, the television viewing public is no longer “forced” to watch television commercials, which were once the primary medium for advertising during a television show. In response, advertising agencies are increasingly focusing on the Internet as their primary medium of exchange and promotion of products.
Traditionally, television episodes are produced, filmed and broadcast without the opinions of the viewing public. This typical production process 100 is illustrated in FIG. 1. At step S11, the production and filming is completed on the full episode. Then, at step S12, the completed episode is aired on television. Finally, at step S13, feedback is received through ratings and reviews. A major disadvantage of production process 100 is that the production of an episode is based solely on the ideas and opinions of producers, directors, and writers and this production fails to integrate any feedback from the viewing public until after the money has been spent on the entire production process and the show has aired. There is no opportunity after airing of the episode to go back and change the episode based on the feedback received at step S13 of the process 100. Other disadvantages of this typical production process 100 include an audience that is restricted to those with availability during the scheduled air time of the episode; a viewing public does not feel a sense of ownership over the final product, resulting in a lower probability of them making time to watch the program; and advertising that is limited to television commercials and brand placement within the episode, which may be less effective than other forms of advertising as previously noted.
In response to the increased competition and other disadvantages faced by the traditional production methods, many television programs have evolved to more interactive models that include viewer feedback, integrated advertising and informational websites. One such example is the popular television program American Idol® which encourages higher ratings through audience interaction in the form of voting. The production process 200 of such an integrated reality TV show is illustrated in FIG. 2. At step S21, the production and filming is completed on the first half (Part 1) of each episode. Then, at step S22, the first half (Part 1) of the episode is aired on television. Either during or after airing, viewers are able to vote, for example for winners, via telephone, text messages or online, at step S23. Finally, at step S24, the winners (which are a result of the viewing voting) are announced during a live “results” show which is aired later, typically the next night. This production process 200 still includes the disadvantages of production process 100 of an audience that is restricted to those with availability during the scheduled air time of the episode and advertising that is mainly limited to television commercials and brand placement within the episode, which may be less effective than other forms of advertising as previously noted.
Although some viewer interaction is available via the production process 200 illustrated in FIG. 2, these currently available television production processes 100, 200 fail to adequately integrate the viewing public, provide a sense of ownership or take advantage of the unique exposure provided by the World Wide Web. Further, there are currently no television programs that have based the entire production of a television episode around viewer interaction.